time signature

American  

noun

Music.

1. a numerical or other indication at the beginning of a piece showing the meter.

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time signature British  

noun

1. music a sign usually consisting of two figures, one above the other, the upper figure representing the number of beats per bar and the lower one the time value of each beat. This sign is placed after the key signature at the outset of a piece or section of a piece

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Etymology

Origin of time signature

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

time signature

From its 1974 debut album to 2015, when the band played a farewell show at the Forum, Rush was the standard-bearer for elaborate, multi-part songs full of falsetto hollers, time signature changes and drum solos.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2023

“That’s why this particular time signature and beat is selected for this song,” he said, referring to the rollicking 6/8 tempo.

From New York Times ● Feb. 21, 2023

By “that” I meant the time signature changes, the instrumentation, and the unpredictable chords that allowed the melody to flow over them and carry the power of Warwick’s performance downstream.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 10, 2023

But a typical Bacharach composition was rhythmically complex, often wrong-footing the listener with sudden changes of time signature and irregular phrasing.

From BBC ● Feb. 9, 2023

Figure 1.58: Normally, a composer who wants to put more or fewer beats in a measure must change the time signature, as in this example from Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones